[su_spacer size=”20″] University of Georgia swimmer Ty Stewart and soccer team member Liliana Rios have been named the recipients of the 2015-16 Joel Eaves Scholar Athlete Award.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The award is presented to the male and female student-athletes at UGA with the highest grade point averages, respectively, entering the fall semester of their senior years (as defined by hours). Additionally, a student-athlete must have earned at least two varsity letters to be eligible for the award.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Eaves was the Director of Athletics at UGA from 1963 to 1979, and the award was established with the aim of acknowledging the contributions he made during his tenure while also highlighting the academic achievements of current student-athletes.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Stewart, a native of Hattiesburg, Miss., is a double major in English and Cognitive Science with a 3.99 GPA.  In the pool he has won All-America honors four times in the butterfly, backstroke and IM events, and he holds the school record in the 200 backstroke.  Last year he won first-team All-SEC honors after taking first in the 200 IM race at the SEC championships.  The Eaves award is the latest in a slew of academic honors that Stewart has earned.  That list includes Scholar All-American by the College Swimming Coaches of America (three times), SEC Academic Honor Roll (three times), J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Honor Roll (three times), Ramsey Scholar, UGAAA Leadership Academy, and the team’s Scholar-Athlete Award as a freshman in 2013.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Rios, from Duluth, Ga., is a Biology major with a 3.97 GPA.  She has twice won the soccer team’s Academic Achievement Award for having its highest GPA in two full school years.  She has also been named twice to the J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Honor Roll, most recently this spring, when she was among 23 student-athletes that posted 4.0 GPAs.  On the field, Rios has seen action as a midfielder in each of her first three seasons as a Bulldog, playing in 14 games as a freshman in 2012.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Rios and Stewart will be recognized during the pregame ceremonies at the football game against ULM on Sept. 5. Kickoff is set for noon
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